


When The Levee Breaks

by astralundies



Category: Gangsta. (Manga)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Some kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4624074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralundies/pseuds/astralundies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To Nicolas Brown, injuries were a way of life, something that happened almost as often as the rain in Ergastulum. With enough uppers, he’d rarely even notice it-- though coming down was still a bitch. </p>
<p>He knew a Normal like Worick didn’t have that luxury, though, and he did what he could to spare his partner from the real dangers of battle. That was a tag’s job, after all. But this tag’s job had become a whole fuck of a lot harder recently with all the mounting unrest in the anti-Twilight factions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When The Levee Breaks

To Nicolas Brown, injuries were a way of life, something that happened almost as often as the rain in Ergastulum. With enough uppers, he’d rarely even notice it-- though coming down was still a bitch.

He knew a Normal like Worick didn’t have that luxury, though, and he did what he could to spare his partner from the real dangers of battle. That was a tag’s job, after all. But this tag’s job had become a whole fuck of a lot harder recently with all the mounting unrest in the anti-Twilight factions. He couldn’t be there all the time.

So it was inevitable something would happen, right? It’s not like he could stop everything. He was a Twilight, not a superhuman.

That seemed like little comfort as he sat on the rickety stool next to the clinic cot, watching the eyebrows of his contractor and oldest friend draw together in unconscious pain.

He hadn’t seen Worick hurt like this since they were kids, before he’d...well. Even then, it had never been this bad. Dr. Theo said the gut shot wasn’t necessarily fatal: it missed any serious damage to his organs. But that hardly meant there was no danger. It had been a tough battle to get him stable, and the threat of any number of complications still hung in the air.

His heartbeat felt so faint.

The tea that Nina had brought him was completely chilled; Nicolas had forgotten about it. He knew she was still around somewhere, but she and Dr. Theo had been gracious enough to give the two of them space. Nobody had stopped by, actually. They probably knew better than to approach him when he was this on edge.

The IV in Worick’s arm irritated Nicolas. He wanted to tear it out. He wanted to shake Worick like he’d overslept, just wake him up, and get the fuck back to their headquarters. If only it were that easy.

Nicolas sat, and watched, and waited. He hated being idle more than anything, but this was different. This was guard duty.

He watched the lighting change from the dim orange of dusk to the deep blues of night. Night stretched on, and he could see the moonlight shift in the window, then disappear.

He waited. His eyes felt heavy.

 

He woke up with a start when his head bobbed forward suddenly. When had he nodded off?

He thought about taking some uppers just to stay awake and keep watch, but they made him so restless. He’d have to work off that energy, and Dr. Theo would kick him right the fuck out. Worick would admire the foresight Nicolas was actually managing to have right now.

His eyes drooped again. Maybe just a few minutes. He leaned forward to rest his head and arms on the side of the cot, and let himself rest.

When Nicolas awoke again, the sun cracked through the skyline and the sky was a faded pink. So much for a few minutes. He blinked a few times, scrunching his face to shake out the drowsiness. He went to pull his arms back, but met with a resistance he didn’t expect. Something was on his hand.

Sometime in the night, Worick had weakly hooked his ring finger and pinky around Nicolas’s finger.

If Nicolas concentrated, he could feel a thrum of pulse in Worick’s fingertips. It was stronger than before, though not by much.

Nicolas supposed he could sleep a little longer.

He woke up again what was likely a few hours later. He could see some movement on the other side of the white curtain, and by the number of feet, he could tell the clinic was open for business.

A plate of toast had been left on the bedside table, and the cold tea had been taken away. Nina, no doubt. Nicolas was irritated that she had to see him and Worick holding hands like they were… like what? No. It was pointless to think about it like that.

By now, his arm had fallen asleep from the awkward position he’d been in. There was no point in even trying to stay like this. He pushed himself away and dug the heel of his palms into his eyes to rub away the grogginess.

The toast was cold and dry, but Nicolas didn’t really care. He didn’t realize until he took a bite that he’d entirely neglected to eat the day before. It was another thing Worick would’ve given him shit about.

Worick still slept, though. At least he looked a bit more peaceful today. Relaxed. Dr. Theo must have given him another dose of painkillers.

Nicolas wanted to touch him.

He was a little surprised by the impulse, and distracted himself with the cold toast.

He saw more of Nina and Dr. Theo today, and that seemed like a good sign. Nina especially hovered over the two and fussed over taking Worick's vitals, or making sure Nicolas took care of himself. As much as he wanted to be alone, Nicolas couldn't be mad at her for prying, or for anything, really. It was probably why Dr. Theo had deployed her in the first place.

Worick stirred more today than he had the day before. Nicolas thought that was probably a good sign-- or at least, he knew he got restless when the downers wore off and the wounds dulled in severity.

He slept for the rest of the day and into the night. Nicolas thought, distantly, that even with all these bruises, Worick looked beautiful when he slept.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nicolas saw something move on the cot. His head whipped up fast enough that his vision was a blur for a moment, but then he saw one bleary eye looking up at him.

“I fucked up pretty bad, didn’t I?” Though Worick smiled, Nicolas couldn’t see any hint of laughter in his eye. He must really be in pain.

The relief that flooded Nicolas was almost shocking, like he’d been holding his breath for nearly two days and could finally let it out. Just thinking about it like that made him give a heavy sigh, and he felt the tension drain from his shoulders.  

_You sure as hell did,_ Nicolas signed. _What were you thinking? Trying to be a hero or something?_

“I guess so, huh? That’s me, the main character. Can’t keep my dick outta these fights.”

At least, Worick had probably said something like that. He was hardly in a state where he could talk effectively, and asking him to sign was probably out of the question.

_I have no idea what the fuck you’re trying to say. You’re mumbling_

“Then just lemme sleep.” Worick’s eye drifted shut again.

Even when he stopped talking, Nicolas found himself staring at Worick’s mouth. His lips were so dry, so chapped. Before he even fully realized he was doing it, Nicolas reached out to touch them. They felt as rough as they looked.

Worick’s eye snapped back open at the touch, and Nicolas felt the cot shudder as Worick started.

“You’re so stupid,” Nicolas mouthed, though he didn’t bother to raise his voice enough to cause his throat to vibrate. Worick should figure out how to lip-read, too. Nicolas's fingers brushed against Worick's face and trailed away, down his neck, and hooked on the top of his shirt.

Something that had built for over twenty years fractured, and they both knew they couldn't hold it back anymore.

“This is such a fuckin’ cliche,” Worick said, and the way his mouth turned up in that crooked way told Nicolas that he was making some sort of half-hearted laugh. He always did that when he was nervous.

Nicolas didn’t give a shit. He leaned forward and kissed his friend.

Worick held still, and Nicolas could feel the sheets gather under his hand as Worick grabbed a bundle of them in his fist. But then, Worick kissed back.

This was hardly the most romantic of situations for something like this; Worick was ragged and reeking of antiseptic, and Nicolas barely even cared enough to wash off the blood from the other day’s fight. Neither of them had really been much for romance, though, so maybe it was really what suited them.

Worick slipped his tongue into Nicolas’s mouth, and his hands on the back of Nicolas’s neck, and Nicolas wondered what had taken him so fucking long to try this. He pinned his arms on either side of Worick and climbed up on the bed.

They kissed again, and again, and Nicolas felt a rumbling deep in his throat as he sighed. Worick’s hand slipped to his chest, and he gently pushed him away.

As hard as it was to back off this quickly, Nicolas knew he’d probably been a bit too hasty anyway. But then again, is 22 years really what anyone would call ‘too hasty?’

He snorted a tiny laugh. Worick’s lips didn’t look so dry anymore.

“Come on, Nic. I appreciate the idea, but I feel like shit right now. Let’s pick this up when I get home.”

That was fine. Nicolas had business to attend anyway. There was a perp out there alive somewhere, and _someone_ had to take care of that.

****  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I tried to write something saucier, but emotions happened instead and this came out. I'll get back to these trash boys later though I swear. 
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> *** SPOILERS SPOILERS HI SPOILERS HERE BELOW HI HELLO****
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> I tried to write this to take place at any time theoretically so it can be read by anyone as a "what-if," but really I was thinking about it being when Worick gets busted up between Vol 5 and Vol 6 of the manga. I started writing this after reading Vol 5, but Vol 6 kind of ruined my idea of "and then they go home and fuck it out" tbh
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> ** OK SPOILERS OVER THANKS FOR READING BYE **


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